It's always sad when a game developer dies, but especially so when that person is the founder of an actual genre. Yoshihisa Kishimoto is just such a person. He created the Kunio-kun/River City and Double Dragon franchises, and as such, is considered the father of the beat 'em up genre. Double Dragon was instrumental in popularizing cooperative multiplayer, so his influence even extends beyond the genre that he created. Lamentably, Kishimito died on April 2, as reported by his son.

Co-op gamers like ourselves ate very good this past month:

When Hades came along in 2020, it quickly built a reputation as one of the best roguelike games around. Naturally, such a successful game has inspired many others, but how can other developers improve on perfection? With co-op, of course! That’s the clever approach that games like TMNT: Splintered Fate from Super Evil Megacorp and SWORN from ...

The original Everhood is a beloved single-player RPG with music battles for Switch and Steam, sort of a cross between Undertale and Guitar Hero. It did well enough to get a slightly less popular sequel, and now a roguelike spinoff called Everhood Hunters is in the works. Roguelikes are generally pretty awesome (see SWORN and TMNT: Splintered Fate), and this one will feature 2-player online co-op, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye on.

The original The Takeover is a beat 'em up from Pelikan13 that is famed for its large characters and impressive graphics. Since the Steam version came out in 2019 and the PlayStation and Switch versions landed in 2021, fans have been clamoring for a sequel. However, as the years stretched on, it seemed like the Take might really be Over. Fear not! The second game will be called Takeover 2 (the budget didn't allow for articles), and it's coming to Steam in September. Hopefully, console versions will follow!

Okay, I missed the announcement when Hotel Barcelona opened its doors on consoles and PC back in September. I mean, it sounds like a hotel and not a game, right? The rain in Spain is mainly on the plain, as they say. It sounds like the game was also a little bit confusing in the gameplay department when it first launched. This month, developers White Owls and Dark Product published the major "Under New Management" update to solve that little problem. The update improves combat, multiplayer, and lots more.

While Arc System Works is best known for games like Double Dragon Revive and the BlazBlue series, they also make non-punching games from time to time. DAMON and BABY is just such a game. It stars a future demon king named Damon who is bound by a curse to a mysterious baby (more like a toddler, really). In 2-player local co-op games, the second player gets to be Damon's dog! The game has just launched on PlayStation, Switch, and Steam... Poor Xbox doesn't get to hold the baby.

King Arthur is known to be a valiant warrior, so defeating him won't be easy. It will be especially tough in SWORN, a Hades-style roguelike in which Arthur and his knights have been corrupted into monsters. Suppose that a player was brave enough to fight all of those once-gallant knights all in a row. Why, that is now possible thanks to the game's recent Version 1.2 update. It adds a Boss Rush mode, new cosmetics, an enemy Corruption system, and more.

It seems like only last month that Limited Run games was announcing MARVEL MaXimum Collection, a compilation of 13 classic games featuring Marvel characters. Hey, that actually was last month! Well, the collection must have been nearly ready in February, because MARVEL MaXimum Collection will land on all platforms on Friday, March 27. That's so soon!

Dotemu's Absolum broke all kinds of sales records when it debuted on PlayStation, Switch, and Steam last year. The developers even promised a big Version 1.1 update which came along in February of this year. All the while, Xbox gamers had no choice but to look on from the outside and long for the coveted Absolum beat 'em up roguelike experience. It wasn't easy, I can tell you. Thankfully, those long months of yearning are finally behind us. Absolum came out on Xbox Series consoles today, and it's even on Game Pass. It's time to get absolumming, boys and girls!

We are currently enjoying a beat 'em up renaissance, and that doesn't just include licensed brawlers like Scott Pilgrim EX. Even classic series like Jaleco's Rushing Beat (originally localized as Rival Turf) are making a comeback! The fourth game in that series, RUSHING BEAT X: Return of the Brawl Brothers from City Connection and Clear River Games, has just arrived on not just Switch and Steam, but Xbox and PlayStation too! It features 2-player local co-op, just like previous entries.

If you asked me about my most-anticipated shoot 'em up(s) at the beginning of the year, I'd have answered "the Raiden Fighters Remix Collection from MOSS and H2 Interactive." But when the 3-game collection arrived at the end of February, fans like me were dismayed to discover that it suffered from problems like a too-high frame rate and a scarcity of visual options. Thankfully, MOSS has acknowledged fan feedback and is working on a fix to implement the proper frame rate.